Word vs. Works: Compatability Issues

Word and Works are a lot like the twins that are rumored to have founded ancient Rome, Romulus and Remus. Sure, they look like, and in a lot of ways they act alike, but you are never exactly sure when one will try to kill the other in the dead of night. (Word, I'm looking in your direction.)

All kidding aside when you first open Works and Word it looks a lot like you are looking at two versions of the same program, but your not. While they both cover the basics (like formatting and templates), that is where the similarities end. Think about Works as a kind of a "stripped down" version for street racing, while Word is being admired for its walnut paneling. This means that for complicated documents, Word in going to be the better choice. Of course, Word comes with a price tag that would make Caligula blush, so in these tight fiscal years, many companies may find themselves strapped enough to abandon Word in favor of the lesser sibling, at least for users who do not have to do a lot of advanced work with their word processors. Honestly, we both know that there is little you can do if your bosses make a company wide decision to use Works in order to cut costs. (Works often comes bundled with computers.) My advice is, if you really need to use Macros or have the extra tools bars, then ask for special permission to keep your old version or get a new version of Word. When the need is true, most companies will give you what you need to do your job. And if they don't, get yourself Open Office. It has all of the advanced features you need, Word compatibility and it doesn't cost a dime.

This does however create a problem for the users of Works who need to send a file to a Word user. Word's file format extension (the three letters after the dot in the file name) is .doc and Works is .wps, and while the most current version of Works will open Word documents like a native file, Word is still a bit more of a picky eater.

Don't worry! As your Office Suite problem-solver I have not one, but two ways around this for you, no matter if you are the Works user or the Word user. One will allow you to keep the native .wps and .doc formats, but requires you to download a program, and the other requires nothing other than an extra step when you save your programs. The choice is yours.

The Download Method if you have Works:

1. Visit the Works 2000 Converter site, and download the software. Don't worry, it's safe and made by Microsoft.

2. Install it using the instructions on the bottom of the page.

3. Run Works as usual.

The Download Method if you have Word.

Note: you only need to do this if you have an older version of Word, 2000 is the last version you should need this for.

1. Go and download the Office File Converter Pack. Don't worry, it's safe and made by Microsoft.

2. Install it using the instructions on the bottom of the page.

3. Run Word as usual.

The Non-Download Method for Works or Word.

1. Open the file you need to send.
2. Click on 'File'.
3. Click on 'Save As'.
4. There will be a pull down list with the file types. Choose the .rtf file format (short for Rich Text Format)
5. Click on 'OK'.

Now that you know how to make the boys play nice, you shouldn't have any problems using Works or sending files between the two programs. And if you get the chance to teach others how, you'll get some techie street credibility.